Octane is a minor antagonist in the Transformers franchise, mainly appearing in Generation One. He is one of the Triple Changers.
He was voiced by Beau Weaver, who also voiced Tiger Shark in the computer game Marvel Ultimate Alliance.
Biography[]
G1 cartoon[]
Octane debuts in the third season's opening story "Five Faces of Darkness", as one of the Decepticons who have gone into exile on Chaar.
He is given a major role in "Thief in the Night", where he retrieves Trypticon and sets up camp in Cambodya, using it as a base to attack local ships and steal their fuel. His unauthorised actions earn the ire of Galvatron and see him exiled from the Decepticons. In the episode "Starscream's Ghost", Galvatron is revealed to have placed a price on his head and Octane seeks sanctuary with the Autobots. He befriends Sandstorm but finds himself constantly under attack from bounty hunters and ends up teaming up with Starscream's ghost and aiding him in his attempt to possess Cyclonus. The scheme only led to them both getting on Galvatron's bad side again.
Octane was apparently allowed back into the Decepticons later on, since he is seen among Galvatron's troops in "The Ultimate Weapon".
Marvel Comics[]
Octane debuted in the UK-exclusive story "Target: 2006" as part of a unit of Decepticons on Cybertron. They are sent to assassinate Autobot leader Emirate Xaaron, unaware they are walking into an ambush, but end up being recalled because of the need for reinforcements on Earth. Octane remained on Cybertron however. The later story "Resurrection" showed the first hint of his cowardly nature as he fled an attack led by Optimus Prime then spun a story of heroism.
Octane made his first appearance in the US comic in Issue #29, where he and fellow Triple Changers Blitzwing and Astrotrain were sent to Earth by Ratbat to supervise a cargo. This resulted in them being infected by the Scraplets, although they managed to capture Blaster. They demanded help from Ratbat but he instead blackmailed the Throttlebots into attempting to destroy the group in order to control the infection. However, when Goldbug discovered the Scraplets were vulnerable to water, Octane and the others ended up teaming up with the Throttlebots to destroy them, then fled with the cargo.
Octane remained on Earth and joined up with the local Decepticons, continuing to make sporadic appearances until the climax of the Underbase Saga in Issue #50. After the Autobots and Decepticons allied against the Underbase-powered Starscream, Octane and the other Triple Changers were among the unit led by Fortress Maximus and Soundwave and all three of them were deactivated defending Buenos Aires.
Octane appeared briefly in two separate future timelines, taking part in a mass attack on the Autobots in "The Legacy of Unicron" and defending the Decepticons' power complex on Earth, helping kill the Autobot Crossblades, in "Rhythm of Darkness".
In Marvel UK's Earthforce storyline, Octane was active again as part of Shockwave's Decepticon faction, helping him ambush Megatron and steal a fuel shipment. He last appears in the story "Manoeuvres", in which he begins ramming cars on the motorway for fun only for one car, in reality a transformed Jazz, to lure him into the middle of an army testing range, where he is in danger of the fuel he is carrying being ignited by the explosions. He begs Blitzwing and Astrotrain for help, but on learning the full story they leave him to his fate.
IDW Comics[]
Octane, in this continuity called Tankor, is a minor antagonist in Phase 1, and a supporting character in Phase 2 of the original IDW Transformers comics. Chronologically, Tankor was first seen in Monstrosity, where he was the one who was responsible for carrying the energon the Decepticons were intending to steal from the Toraxxis mega-refinery. He was also seen in flashback in The Iron Age, where he was part of a convoy carrying 75 tons of energon. However, Optimus Prime and Ironhide intercepted them, and captured them by threatening to detonate the unstable energon supply they were carrying. He was also mentioned to have served as part of Deadlock's unit once.
In All Hail Megatron, his first released appearance, during the Decepticon's conquest of Earth, Tankor managed to intercept the nuke the EU had intended for the Decepticons in New York, by posing as their plane. After the Autobots arrived, Megatron ordered the gleeful Tankor to proceed with the bomb drop and to rendezvous with the Decepticons later. The bomb was indeed dropped, but diverted by Thundercracker. After being stranded on Earth in the aftermath, Tankor was captured by humans, but later freed by Swindle's team. Tankor and the others went along with Swindle's false alliance with Hot Rod's Autobots.
After the war ended, Tankor kept his head down, eventually giving up being a Decepticon altogether. As a simple citizen of Cybertron, he befriended another former 'Con named Tankor, and the two became nicknamed Tall Tankor and Far Tankor respectively.